Specified systems and compliance schedules

If you own a building that contains a specified system such as a cable car, you must ensure they are effectively operated for the life of the building and in keeping with the council-issued compliance schedule.

A determination is a binding decision made by MBIE providing a way of solving disputes or questions about the rules that apply to buildings, how buildings are used, building accessibility, and health and safety.

Why you need licensed people

Building rules help you build it right – protecting you and your home now and when you come to sell it. As the homeowner, some of these rules affect the choices you make.

If your building work is critical to the integrity of your home, it may be restricted building work. This type of work ensures a property is structurally sound and weathertight.

You must use a Licensed Building Practitioner (LBP) to design or carry out restricted building work. An LBP must do or supervise this work.

If you need an LBP, a quick check will tell you if someone's licensed.

LBPs are assessed before getting a licence, and have to keep their knowledge up to date to be re-licensed. They include designers, carpenters or builders, roofers, brick and block layers, external plasterers, site and foundation specialists.

About restricted building work

Generally, you’ll need to use LBPs for bigger, or more complex jobs. Restricted building work (RBW) applies to work that both:

requires a building consent

and affects a home’s:

primary structure

weathertightness

certain fire safety design.

Primary structure includes the parts of a building that help resist vertical or horizontal loads, such as:

foundations and subfloor framing

floors

walls (framing, brick/block, internal linings)

roofs

columns, beams and bracing.

Weathertightness includes the following parts of a building that keep water out or help control moisture within the building fabric:

You can also read why contracts are valuable for information on consumer protection rules your designer, builder or tradespeople must follow for projects over $30,000 (including GST), and why it’s worth getting a contract whatever the size of your project.

Council paperwork

You may want to the council yourself, or you might nominate someone (such as your designer, house building company or project manager) to do it on your behalf. Even if you nominate someone else, as the homeowner you still have obligations when building.

The rules about restricted building work are related to your council’s role in consenting and inspecting building work. This protects you and future owners by creating a record of who did what on your home.

If you don’t use the right people, and your building work does not comply with the Building Regulations, the council:

may not approve your consent application

may delay your code compliance certificate for the work

could issue a “notice to fix” for breaching the Building Act

Without the right paperwork, your insurance or finances could be affected, and it could pose problems when it’s time to sell.

The rules about restricted building work are important. If you or your builder don’t follow them, there are instant fines or you could face a court fine of up to $20,000.

DIY and exempt work

You can be part of New Zealand’s long established “DIY” (Do-It-Yourself) building tradition, so long as you meet the Building Regulations requirements and get the right consents and permissions.

You can do a lot of low-risk building work on your home without a building consent.

Check if you need consents has more information. Work that doesn’t require a building consent is not restricted and doesn’t require an LBP.

If you want to carry out restricted building work on your home (or holiday home), you can apply to the council for an owner-builder exemption.

With an approved owner-builder exemption, you won’t need an LBP to do or supervise restricted building work.

Whether you are planning a large or small project, any building work you do must meet the minimum standards set out by the Building Regulations.

When something’s not right

Let us know if someone is doing or supervising restricted building work when they:

are not licensed (and don’t have owner-builder exemption)

hold the wrong licence

have an out of date licence.

When non-licensed people do or supervise restricted building work, quality and safety could be affected.

A person may be licensed, but working outside the scope of their licence class, or there may be a problem with their work or conduct. If that’s the case, the Building Practitioners Board may be able to take action.

About Us

This information is published by the Your home’s Chief Executive. It is a general guide only and, if used, does not relieve any person of the obligation to consider any matter to which the information relates according to the circumstances of the particular case. Expert advice may be required in specific circumstances. Where this information relates to assisting people:

with compliance with the Building Act, it is published under section 175 of the Building Act

with a Weathertight Services claim, it is published under section 12 of the Weathertight Homes Resolution Services Act 2006.